SARASOTA, Fla. — Deputies are investigating after two people were found dead inside a Sarasota home Wednesday night in an apparent murder-suicide.
The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office said deputies arrived at the home in the 1600 block of Stickney Point Road around 8:57 p.m.
There, they found the two victims, 44-year-old Tesse Kofahl and 57-year-old Robert Joseph Harrison, Jr., who had been shot. The Sarasota County Fire Department then arrived, and they were pronounced dead.
The shooting was an isolated incident, and there is no threat to the public, according to the sheriff's office.
A neighbor in the same building, Allen Raden, was coming home Wednesday as deputies were rushing in behind him. He pulled up to find several sheriff's office vehicles and ambulances swarming in the small parking lot.
“I have never seen so many police vehicles in one place at one time in my life," Raden said. "I parked and was hustled inside, and they said what it was didn’t concern me.”
Raden did not hear the gunshots from inside his neighbor's home, but witnessed deputies surrounding the door with their guns drawn, many armed with riffles or protecting themselves behind shields.
Cellphone video captured by his daughter showed the deputies shouting at whoever was inside to come out. But ultimately, they would go in to find Kofahl and Harrison already dead.
There have been several other shootings elsewhere in the county in the last couple months.
So far this year, eight deaths have been ruled homicides in Sarasota County, according to Chief medical Examiner Dr. Russell Vega. There were 11 homicides in 2023 and 19 in 2022.
But the sheriff’s office said Wednesday night’s shooting was an isolated incident and didn’t present a threat to the community.
Raden said he still felt safe in his quiet, friendly community.
"I think these sort of things happen. They can happen all income levels and all locations," he said. "People reach their wits end and they don’t see any other solution and they turn to violence to solve their problems.”
The sheriff's office has not released any other details about their investigation.
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